Grasshoppers may be small, but the damages they are causing to the U.S. agriculture industry are anything but. Every year, they feed on crops and on rangelands needed for raising livestock, costing landowners millions of ...

In the beginning there were single cells. Today, many millions of years later, most plants, animals, fungi, and algae are composed of multiple cells that work collaboratively as a single being. Despite the various ways these ...

Soils of southern South America, including Patagonia, have endured a high frequency of disturbances from volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, and erosion. In addition, massive fires in the mid-20th century were set ...

Traditional molecular systematic studies have progressed by sequencing genes one by one, a time- and cost-intensive task that has limited the amount of data a researcher could feasibly obtain. With the continual improvement ...

Many people think of deserts as inhospitable places devoid of life, but numerous plants and animals have adapted to this harsh environment, where they often compete for limited resources. In desert environments, the most ...

RNA, a nucleic acid involved in protein synthesis, is widely used in genetic research to study patterns of gene expression in different organisms. The types and quantities of RNA present in an organism indicate which genes ...

By integrating high-resolution X-ray imaging (termed microCT), 3D image segmentation, and computer animation, a new study conducted by Carole Gee at the University of Bonn, Germany, demonstrates the visualization of fossils ...

Microsatellites are molecular markers with numerous applications in biological research. In studies of both plants and animals, they can be used to investigate speciation, gene flow among populations, mating systems, and ...

The structure and plasticity of root systems play an important role in determining the growth and yield of crop plants, and understanding how environmental and biological factors affect root structure is of key importance ...

Invasive species are among the world's greatest threats to native species and biodiversity. Once invasive plants become established, they can alter soil chemistry and shift nutrient cycling in an ecosystem. This can have ...